The invention relates to a tape feeder for a sewing machine for feeding a selected one of two or more tapes to the machine presser foot.
A tape feeder with a feeder roller to feed in elastic tapes under the presser foot on a sewing machine is known from DE 38 30 772 Al which corresponds to the U.S. Pat. No. 4,829,919. This known feeder has a presser device with two presser support rollers which are held rotatably by a pivot plate and arranged in advance of and after feed roller. The presser support rollers can be operated by a change-over device in such a way that they affect the feed rollers individually and the feed roller is designed in such a way that it reverses its rotational direction if the other presser support roller becomes effective. By reason of the constructive embodiment, this device performs a motion relative to the sewing machine in the workpiece feed direction when the change-over device is operated. In so doing, the operator's field of vision of the point where the stitches are formed can be impaired and thus cause the operator to become prematurely fatigued.
An object of the invention is therefore to design a tape feeder such that the operator's field of vision is not impaired and that fatigue is kept as low as possible when operating the sewing machine.